Page 74 of Mountain Refuge

“Good job. Remember…not too many from one town. You might have to travel a bit.” Bill clapped the young man on the shoulder. “Keep it up, and I might have to promote you to trainer.”

“I’d sure like that. Beats the grunt work I do now.” He grinned and turned to jog to his vehicle, a cliché white panel van with the word florist on the side.

All of the men wanted to be trainers, but only a few had the privilege. Above all, they had to be one hundred percent trustworthy. Jason was proving he could be trusted.

Bill turned and marched to the brick building housing the women’s bathroom and shower. He could hear the crying before he opened the door. That wouldn’t do at all. What if a hiker wandered by?

Yanking open the door, he called for the girl to shut up. The crying changed to a whimper. He moved to the last stall and stood over a petite red-haired girl, big blue frightened eyes over a gag, and a dusting of freckles across her nose. She couldn’t be more than fourteen.

“My, my.” He hunkered down in front of her and ran the back of his hand down her soft face. “You are a pretty thing. You’re going to bring me a lot of money. Are you pure, or have you been with a boy? Nod if you haven’t been with a boy.”

The girl shivered and gave a quick nod.

He grinned. There would be no training for her. This one had to be kept unsullied. “Don’t worry. No one will bother you. Not until you’re sold anyway.” He pushed to his feet. “I’ll fetch Mary to clean you up and dress you so we can take your picture. Won’t that be fun?”

The only woman in camp, Mary was a middle-aged woman who preferred to dress and act like a man. But, she did know how to dress a girl properly and apply makeup. That’s all Bill cared about.

More tears spilled down the girl’s cheeks.

“No fighting when Mary gets here, you hear me? We don’t want to mar that lovely skin of yours or addict you to drugs. You behave, and everything will be just fine.” Another pat to her cheek and he left the building. Jason sure did know how to pick the girls. Except, it was too slow. He needed another hunter prowling the streets.

The question was who? Most of his men were too old to attract young girls and he didn’t have time to find another young man without a conscience. He sure didn’t want to go out there himself. Thirty-five was too old.

Maybe he’d forget the grooming and use the old-fashioned snatch and grab. He had plenty of men qualified to do that. Plans made, he headed to find a few hunters. He’d lost a lot of time and money when Taya rescued those girls.

Chapter Ten

A week hadpassed with no sign of The Boss. Taya sat on a deck chair, drummed her fingers on the wooden arm, and stared into the trees as the three dogs nosed around the property.

She’d filled her time by communicating with a couple of groups that specialized in tracking down traffickers and waited to hear whether one, or both, of them could use her expertise. She hoped so. The idleness of waiting for something to happen was about to drive her mad.

“I made coffee.” Ryan handed her a cup before sitting in the chair next to her. “Tracy is inside working on an assignment. Good idea enrolling her in an online school.”

“Hopefully, she can catch up during this spring and over the summer.” She took a sip of the coffee made just the way she liked it. Lots of vanilla cream. “Thanks. How do you always remember the little things? The details?”

“Writer, remember?” His eyes twinkled over the rim of his cup.

“Can Tracy sneak out?” Taya ducked her head so he wouldn’t see how much she enjoyed the look in those azure eyes when they rested on her. She couldn’t get involved with a man now or probably never. Her line of work didn’t leave much room for romance.

“If she tries, she won’t get far. I installed alarms on the doors and windows.” He chuckled. “The piercing sound should scare her back inside.”

“Brilliantly devious.” She turned her attention back to the woods. “You have a great view. Have you ever thought about buying this place?”

“It’s not for sale.”

“Everything is for sale if the price is right.”

“Hey.” He set his cup down. “How about we forget about all…thisfor a while. Let’s grab lunch at the diner and drive around looking at the sights? The lake is gorgeous, and there’s a hiking trail.”

It didn’t take long for her to make a decision. Not only did she need a break, but it would do Tracy good to get away for a while. “That sounds great.”

An hour later, bringing only Betty with them, they headed down the mountain for lunch. They sat at one of the outside tables again.

Taya surveyed the parking lot. “This place does a good business. It’s packed.”

“It did well even before the group at the campground. Lucy’s is a staple for Misty Hollow.” He glanced at his menu. “The special is chicken fried steak.”

“Too heavy for lunch.” She chose a BLT and chips. “Could I have cream cheese instead of mayo?” She handed her menu to the server.

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